📊 Handle Excel Files Like a Pro in Flutter with the excel Package

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Package: excel

Working with Excel files is a common need for many real-world apps — whether you're building a business dashboard, data analytics tool, school management system, or an inventory app.
The excel package in Flutter makes reading, creating, and modifying .xlsx files simple and efficient — without needing native dependencies.

🔍 What is the excel Package?

The excel package is a pure Dart library that lets you read, write, and edit Excel spreadsheets directly in Flutter or Dart applications.
No external dependencies, no platform-specific plugins — just straightforward Excel manipulation that works everywhere.

With this package, you can:

• 📖 Read Excel files directly from assets or file paths
• 🧾 Create and export .xlsx spreadsheets dynamically
• ✏️ Edit cells, add rows, and style data programmatically
• 💾 Save files locally or share them with users

⚙️ Installation

Add the package to your pubspec.yaml:

dependencies:
  excel: ^4.0.3

Then run:

flutter pub get

🧪 Usage Example

Here's how you can quickly create and save an Excel file:

import 'package:excel/excel.dart';
import 'dart:io';

void main() {
  var excel = Excel.createExcel();
  Sheet sheetObject = excel['Sheet1'];
  // Add header row
  sheetObject.appendRow(['ID', 'Name', 'Score']);
  // Add data rows
  sheetObject.appendRow([1, 'Alice', 85]);
  sheetObject.appendRow([2, 'Bob', 92]);
  sheetObject.appendRow([3, 'Charlie', 78]);
  // Save file
  var fileBytes = excel.save();
  File('students.xlsx')
    ..createSync(recursive: true)
    ..writeAsBytesSync(fileBytes!);
}

✅ This will generate an Excel file called students.xlsx with your data neatly arranged.

🧠 Reading Excel Files

You can also read existing Excel files easily:

import 'package:excel/excel.dart';
import 'dart:io';

void main() {
  var bytes = File('students.xlsx').readAsBytesSync();
  var excel = Excel.decodeBytes(bytes);
  for (var table in excel.tables.keys) {
    print(table); // Sheet name
    print(excel.tables[table]!.rows);
  }
}

This allows you to extract, display, or process data dynamically from Excel spreadsheets.

🌐 Platform Support

Since it's written purely in Dart:

• Works on Flutter (Android, iOS, Web, Desktop)
• Works in server-side Dart applications
• No native code or dependencies needed

🧾 Real-World Use Cases

• 📈 Generate reports from app data
• 🏫 Export student or employee records
• 🛒 Create and manage inventory sheets
• 💼 Integrate data export for analytics dashboards

⚠️ Things to Remember

• Only .xlsx files are supported (not .xls)
• Formatting support (like colors and fonts) is limited
• For complex Excel operations, consider using APIs like Google Sheets or external Excel automation tools

🧾 Final Thoughts

The excel package is one of the most powerful data-handling tools in Flutter.
It helps you automate reporting, manage structured data, and build professional features — all within your Flutter app.

If your app deals with tabular data, this package can save you hours of manual work.
Simple, flexible, and fully Dart-native — that's what makes excel an essential package for Flutter developers.

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